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“Painting” Carl gives ue as he yanks open the fridge, grabs the ht froulps every bit of it Then he tosses the emptied carton at the trashcan It misses and tumbles onto the tile

My ot she even suggested cereal toanyway “Basketball obviously wasn’t your sport,” I note, staring at the carton Carlup

He gives ht up to me A curly smile twists his face apart—a smile that , despite the mockery in his eyes “My sport of choice was football” He punches that word Football “Full-contact sport All th All man”

I squint at hiay to me”

“Sorry, ay card with football here in Spruce,” he fires back, prepared already for onistic retort “Coach Tanner Strong heads the teaet-out, and he’s all h”

My mother, who mistakenly (or deliberately) takes this for soht and buttery giggle before abandoning her spot by the sink “You two, I swear, if I had a nickel,” is all she says as she passes us by, taking her book and herof coffee with her

The atmosphere in the kitchen chills in her departure Carl’s friendly mask drops, and his eyes turn to ice “You deain, I’ll make your life hell I can ht You want your life to be hell?”

We have hadI’ve come to learn is that my stepdad is all bark and no bite These very unveiled threats are a part of his regular vocabulary

I lift my chin to him “Her name’s Marlene She hates it when you call her Marly” I s’s name, anyway?”

He squints challengingly at me “You can throw me all the lip you want, little her skin on that wirefrarade when you needed it, you would have graduated last year with all your friends instead of starting your senior year as an eighteen-year-old wonder You know it I know it Your mom knows it”

I hadn’t expected hi it all suht out of his chapped, uneven, half-snarled lips

And the cut stings, just how he meant it to

Good thing I’raduating high school,” I casually point out, “which is rease on your cheek from the auto shop, or have you not showered yet this week?”

“There isn’t any darease on my face,” the man scoffs at my back as I depart the kitchen, but I know he’ll check his face in the refrigerator’s reflective surface anyway And that thought is alh to mend the wound his little jab tried to open, as I ht out of the house

Besides, seventh grade was ages ago I was someone else The bullies had their worst with ar cookie I failed four of my classes and had to repeat that year while all of rade without raduated, and I’m left to fend for myself all on my own this final year of school—as if I needed another reason for

I have to keep telling hs

Those bullying boys grow up some day, and they become men like my stepdad—dissatisfied, jealous, and full of worthless steam As dark as the notion may be, I have to take solace in the fact that I will not allow myself to turn out like them, no matter what they do to me I have to be better, and I have to do better

Just when I’ve got one foot out the front door ready to s, panting I crouch down and give her a ht where she likes it “At least so “Bark away the baddies froone, you hear?”